Aruba Photos

Aruba's first settlers were the Arawak Indians and remnants of their culture can be found throughout the island. In 1499, the Spanish explorer, Alonso de Ojeda, arrived and claimed the island for Spain. With little to interest them, the Conquistadores dubbed Aruba as Isla Inutil (useless island) and left.In 1636 the Dutch made Aruba into a satellite for the Dutch West Indies Company after being expelled from St. Maarten during the Spanish-Dutch war. The island was captured briefly by the British in 1805 during the Napoleonic War, but was returned to Holland as part of the 1815 Treaty of Paris. By then merchants had begun building Oranjestad.

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